Star Wars: Pride of the Core
by shield616
Summary: Two years after Geonosis, the Republic Navy christens the largest starship in galactic history. Her first mission: find a bypass around Separatist lines through the Unknown Regions. But it's merely a cover for her crew's true objective: locate and capture the scheming Sith Master himself. But not even the ship's awesome firepower could prepare them for the dangers that lie ahead...
1. Opening Crawl

Star Wars:

Pride of the Core

War! The Clone War has raged for over two years, with no end in sight as casualties among both sides number in the billions. In an ever escalating conflict, neutral systems must choose sides, or face the threat of being caught in the crossfire between the Grand Army of the Republic and the Confederacy Droid Armies.

With neither side able to gain an advantage, the JEDI COUNCIL suspects darker forces are working to artificially prolong and escalate the conflict, and has launched an off-records investigation into the matter, well aware their activities could be seen as treasonous if discovered by the Republic.

While agents of the Jedi Shadows probe the deepest workings of the Galactic Republic, Chancellor Palpatine travels to Kuat to christen the PRIDE OF THE CORE, the new flagship of the burgeoning Republic Fleet. But the Jedi have their own plans for the dreadnought...

* * *

 **Hello ! I've been very busy lately, but I've had this story in mind for months now. I will be posting new chapters as they're ready. Enjoy!**

 **NOTE: This story is rated M for language, some sexual themes, violence, and depiction of war crimes and atrocities that may be disturbing to some viewers.**


	2. Chapter 1: Off the Slipway

"It is an honor to be here at this momentous occasion," declared the man on the podium with a familiar voice.

"It has been almost two years since the Clone War began on Geonosis," the Chancellor went on, "Millions have perished. Hundreds of worlds ravaged by the atrocities of Count Dooku and the Separatist menace!"

He paused as words sank in amongst the diverse crowd on the shipyard's dozens of levels. Kuati executives and Republic Senators were seated above in VIP observatory balconies.

"But no more. For this great challenge to our democracy has united the most loyal among us. For this great challenge to our democracy has led us to do amazing achievements. And now I stand before you all today, a witness to what our newfound unity has built. Today, we send forth, a ship of proportions unseen in recent galactic history, designed for battle, to lead our navy on the front lines. She will be the tip of the spear into Separatist-held space, and be called home by three hundred thousand of our best and brightest…"

* * *

Captain Kyle Miran watched the whole spectacle from the dimly-lit bridge. Palpatine was wearing his usual red gown. A chill went down his spine as he observed the crowd give him thunderous applause after thunderous applause. _Must be the nervousness_. Kyle may be captain, but he is only standing in as commander for Admiral Raru Lee, who is a keynote speaker for the commissioning.

He continued to observe the crowd and the podium off to the starboard side of the ship. His gaze shifted toward the VIPs seated next to the Chancellor on the podium. Among those seated were Grand Master Yoda, a young knight, and his padawan. Even though he was several hundred meters above the floor of the ceremony, he could still tell they were Jedi, due to the distinct robes. It was only less than two years before when he too wore the robes of a peacekeeper. It was that very symbolism that led him to forsake them, as well as the Order in which he was raised from birth to be a part of.

Geonosis left scars on everyone.

Palpatine stepped off the podium and took his seat. A female Mon Calamari officer took to the podium.

"There's the admiral," said a young Quarren officer sitting at a nearby station.

"Let's hope this wraps up soon. These speeches are really kriffing boring," replied Rodian.

These remarks irritated the young captain, "Can it, you two! Show some respect."

"Sir! Sorry sir!" they said in unison.

* * *

Brent Astar watched from a seat next to the podium as Admiral Raru Lee stepped up to speak.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. It is an honor to have been appointed the commanding officer of the Republic's new flagship…"

The Kiffar Jedi Knight beamed with pride as he watched the elderly Mon Calamari officer speak to the audience. The sheer size of the ship and the image of power it projected fascinated him. Something didn't seem to feel right, though. He couldn't shake off a feeling of uncertainty. _That cannot be from me_. He turned toward his apprentice. She had on a convincing smile and was listening intently, but no padawan could hide their true emotions from their masters for long.

"I sense you're uneasy, Keya. Tell me. What's on your mind?"

The sudden question briefly startled the Twi'lek. "Oh? Well, I was just thinking."

"About what?"

"Well…" she sheepishly began, "Master Windu once said that we are keepers of the peace, not soldiers."

"Yes, and?"

"So I was wondering, what are we doing fighting in this war?"

"Keya-"

The apprentice hesitated and glanced away at the floor.

"Sorry master, I-I just don't know."

The young jedi gently placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder, as a father would.

"It's okay, Keya. Sometimes I question the war too. But I believe that, as the guardians of peace and justice in the galaxy, it is our duty to help those who can't help themselves, and there are millions of beings living in Separatist space suffering under the boot of the Sith. The Sith orchestrate conflict to feed off of it, and as peacekeepers, we must stop them."

With both their confidence restored, they redirected their attention back to the podium, just in time for the thunderous applause for Admiral Lee as she left the podium.

* * *

 **I listened to the US Navy Anthem "Anchors Aweigh" as I wrote the next section. They go very well with each other.**

* * *

Kyle continued to watch the scene. The Chancellor was on the podium again, this time holding a bottle of champagne. Kyle strode back to the central command walkway from the viewport to see his bridge crew, excluding the clones, lounging about like Hutts.

"There's our cue! Man your stations!"

The sudden order jolted everyone out of their seats. As the clones and recruited officers scrambled to their posts, the captain quickly shifted to his personal console and activated the intercom.

"All hands! Man your stations! Stand by for launch! I repeat! Stand by for launch!"

"Captain! We have an incoming transmission from the podium."

Captain Miran took a deep breath.

"Put it through."

The comm system crackled to life.

"Officers and crew of the _Pride of the Core_ , man our ship, and bring her to life!"

"With pleasure, Chancellor. _Pride of the Core_ , this is Captain Kyle Miran. Turn on all lights and prepare for launch!"

The anthem of the Republic Navy from the Bith band and Kuati Choir on the shipyard dock was blasted across the ship through the intercom as the lights flickered on across the bridge. Kyle strode back to the command walkway, hands calmly clasped behind his back. The music caused his heart to swell with pride; a delighted smile crossed his face as, one by one, the viewports and signaling surfaces across the hull illuminated like a Wookiee forest on Life Day. Dozens of shipyard personnel stood on balconies along the shipyard walls with their marshalling wands to coordinate the ship's departure from the slipway. The captain turned around to face his bridge crew, a diverse collection of clones and recruited crewmen of many races: Humans, Mon Calamari, Duro, Rodians, even Quarren.

"Give me a status report."

"Hull integrity 100%"

"Hypermatter reactors 97.2% efficiency"

"Fuel silos at maximum capacity."

"Hyperdrive fully operational."

"All systems running at optimal condition. The ship is yours, sir."

Captain Miran's smile grew wider. He turned just in time to see the Chancellor throw the champagne bottle at the hull of the _Pride_. His focus then turned to a dock hand in a space suit on a balcony above the hangar entrance. The worker waved his wands towards the hangar exit. _Pride of the Core_ was cleared to leave.

"Activate main thrusters, 5% power."

"Thrusters, 5%"

Then slowly but surely, the ship pushed itself under her own power down the slipway into Kuat's orbit. The gargantuan section of the shipyard was the only dock in the galaxy big enough to berth the eight-kilometer long ship. The captain turned his head to watch the crowd as the bridge passed by. The shipyard seemed to have been deafened by their cheers. Amidst the sea of beings, he saw wives and girlfriends wave their handkerchiefs and children gaping in awe at the scale of the dreadnought. Shipyard workers broke out glasses and popped open bottles of champagne and brandy (albeit some quite literally) celebrating their crowning achievement.

As the ship passed the rest of the crowd, Kyle turned his attention forward again. A thin shadow running across the width of the ship ran down the bridge as it passed under the truss above the entrance to the drydock. _We're almost clear_. The last of the ship soon cleared the slipway, and dozens of space-tugs were soon zipping across the hull, ready to offer tractor beam guidance to the massive ship if needed. She didn't need any.

"Increase power to main thrusters, 25%. Get us clear of orbital traffic."

"Thrusters at 25%, sir. We're making headway."

The gargantuan vessel began to accelerate away from the expansive artificial ring around Kuat that was its shipyards. _You're doing beautifully, old girl. Let's see how well you hold in deep space_. Dozens of spice freighters, starliners, space yachts, and security frigates passed into the crew's field of view and disappeared past the massive viewports. Kyle could feel the awe and surprise through the Force from the crews of the observing ships.

"Captain!" a female Quarren officer called out, "A squadron of friendlies is approaching off our ten o'clock."

Kyle turned his attention toward the viewport to see a flotilla of smaller ships approaching their position. The fleet consisted of three Venator class and four Victory class star destroyers, accompanied by four smaller Arquitens light cruisers

"There's the rest of our battlegroup. Hold the course. They've been ordered to form up around us."

"Yes sir."

"Sir!" a clone officer exclaimed, "Incoming transmission from a Nu-class shuttle. It's the admiral."

"Put her through."

Kyle turned around and returned to his console. A blue hologram of the Mon Calamari appeared. He saluted.

"Admiral!"

"At ease, captain," said his superior in a liquid soft, but stern voice. "You put on a good show back there."

"Uh, with all due respect, Ma'am, I only ordered the lights and thrusters turned on," Kyle replied sheepishly. He quickly changed his tone. "Our cruiser escorts have arrived on schedule. We're ready for space trials in the Hosnian System."

"Excellent. I will be joining you shortly."

The hologram transitioned to a seated Phase II clone pilot.

" _Pride of the Core_ , this is Shuttle _Tydirium_ carrying Admiral Lee and top Kuati engineering personnel, requesting permission to land in Hangar Three."

"Shuttle _Tydirium._ You are cleared for landing."

The captain turned to the Bothan at the comm station.

"Message the fleet to chart a course for Hosnian Prime. Let's get this girl ready to fight."

"Yes sir."


	3. Chapter 2: Castoff Day Part 1

Three months later, 20 BBY; Jago's Diner, Hosnian Prime, 0530 hrs.

A sleepy-eyed Kyle Miran gazed through the order window into the kitchen. A female Selonian chef was hard at work. The otter-like creature gracefully transitioned back and forth between flipping blue milk pancakes, chopping up fruits, and stirring raw rikknit eggs to be make into omelettes. As he sat at the bar, the waitress, another Selonian, came over to take his order.

"I'll take the House Special and a Muja Fruit Juice. I need it quick."

"We'll get right on it," she replied, taking note of his Navy Olive uniform.

 _It's a nice place. Unlike the mess hall._ He dreaded mess hall food, especially for breakfast. _That slop always leaves a bad taste in your mouth, especially in the morning. Guess it's one of the downsides to leaving the Jedi Order for the Navy._ What disturbed him the most about it, though, was the rumor that they served the same inedible garbage at Coruscanti prisons as well.

He took a glance at his watch. He had forty minutes. He looked around the diner. The first thing he noticed was a trio of loud, talkative spacers sitting in the corner.

"...Last month, I ran the Perlemian Route in less than two rotations! TWO rotations! That must've been a galactic record!"

"Oh please! I once made the Kessel Run in 16 parsecs! That was roughly about, uh, one hundred and fifty years ago."

"Come on, man! I'll bet I can make that in 14!"

"It ain't a blue milk run, buddy. Any faster than twenty and you'll be blowin' yerself to kriffin' spacedust! It'll take a special ship with one helluva hyperdrive to beat that."

Even without the spacers, the diner was still a noisy establishment. Dozens of beings were chatting with each other as they enjoyed their meals, as if there were no war. No one besides Kyle paid attention to the holoscreens broadcasting the galactic news. War is all that's on the Holonet these days.

"...Yesterday, the government of Umbara declared its allegiance to the Separatist Systems. Experts believe it is because of the death of Umbaran senator Mee Deechi near the end of last year. Chancellor Palpatine has condemned the action and threatened an immediate response if the Umbaran government didn't withdraw their act of secession."

The BD-3000 droid news anchor paused and tilted her head, placing her finger on the side of it as if she wore an earpiece. Droids actually didn't need to do that, but they were programmed to do so to make them look more organic.

"I have just received word that a Separatist blockade has been established above the planet. It appears war has come to Umbara. This is Kay-Tee Three-Two-Seven, Channel 4 News, signing off."

No one batted an eye after the report. Kyle's attention turned to the sky traffic outside. While the inside of the diner was practically indifferent of the war, the city skyline couldn't be more different. Due to fuel rationing, there were almost no personal airspeeders zipping amongst the buildings. Most beings these days opted to take the airbus service, which announced last week they would offer more frequent service to capitalize on their newfound ridership. Through the diner's massive skylight, Kyle could see Venator class star destroyers hover above, waiting to land at a gargantuan new naval yard on the outskirts of Hosnian City. Several Victory class missile destroyers hovered further up in low orbit, protecting the military space station that formed the core of the planet's orbital defenses.

The Victory class was the newest mass-produced capital ship model in the Republic Navy. Kyle admired its classic design, even many critics observed that it was a throwback to the Sith Navy a millennia before. Its diamond-boron missile batteries packed a devastating long ranged punch. At 900 meters long, it was strong enough engage other capital ships in broadside-to-broadside exchanges, yet small enough to perform lower atmosphere operations without issue. It was also relatively inexpensive to produce, and given Rendili StarDrive's vast network of Mid Rim shipyards, they could be quickly fielded, provided the Republic is still able to hold the line there. The model proved its mettle during the Second Battle of Dorin, softening up the orbital defenses before finishing them off with close-range turbolaser fire. There are even rumors that Rendili and Kuat are collaborating on a mile-long derivative of the design.

The waitress returned with the captain's breakfast: blue milk pancakes, scrambled rikknit egg, bantha sausages, sliced Jogan fruit, and a tall glass of pink Muja juice. Kyle quickly dug in. He probably will be eating army slop for a really long time. Might as well indulge himself.

* * *

 _Pride of the Core_ , 0600 hrs.

The Forward Observation Blister was completely deserted. Well, besides Admiral Lee herself.

The Mon Calamari officer was sitting on one of the couches on the side of the oval-shaped room, gazing at the endless blanket of stars outside the domed transparisteel roof. She watched as one of Hosnian Prime's moons floated slowly across the viewport. It was part of her daily routine, gazing meditatively at the stars. Jedi had their force meditation, clones had their reg manuals, and she found her inner peace through stargazing.

Something started beeping. It was her watch.

The admiral had a briefing in twenty minutes. She got up and began walking back towards the aft of the ship's superstructure.

Even though the ship has been thoroughly tested for three months, The hallways still shined like new, courtesy of the mouse droids swabbing the floors all day everyday. The vessel had literally dozens of kilometers of corridors, so the entire droid cleaning crew was programmed to run throughout the network for eternity, with periodic recharge breaks.

As she approached the upper decks atrium near the middle of the ship, the hallways became more crowded. Sometimes, the admiral had to push her way through the thick sea of beings clogging the halls like gooberfish in a river during fishing season. Clone deck crews were chatting and cracking jokes as they made their way towards the mess hall. Troopers did their morning jogs through the corridors clad in their new Phase II armor amongst courier droids making their deliveries. As Lee neared the bridge tower, she began to spot executive officers in their olive green uniforms wandering the halls.

The density of the crowds quickly thinned as she made her way, the noise dying down enough for her to hear second pair of footsteps walking in sync with hers. Through the back corner of the Mon Calamari's left eye, she saw a clone lieutenant directly behind her. _Strange. The Officers' Mess was down the other corridor_. She kept walking and made a left.

The clone followed. The admiral was getting nervous. Master Yoda specifically told her that no one, especially not a member of the GAR, should know about their briefing. Did High Command find him out? What is so secret that only the Jedi should know about? _Wait, what am I doing?_

The alien turned around to face the clone. He immediately snapped to attention.

"Yes Admiral?"

"What is your destination, Lieutenant?" Lee demanded in a calm, authoritative way.

"The CIC, Ma'am! I have orders from the Logistics Officer to inspect its armory before our departure, Ma'am!"

The Mon Calamari breathed a quick sigh of relief.

"Very well, Lieutenant. Carry on."

"Yes Ma'am!"

The clone continued on his way. Lee turned around and made her way back the way she came. In trying to shake off the officer, she passed her destination.

She approached an unassuming door and buzzed the bell. An old, croaked voice responded.

"Enter, you may."

The door automatically opened, and the admiral stepped into an ornate lounge styled like a room in the Jedi Temple. She was pleasantly surprised when her boots made contact with soft carpet when she was expecting metal flooring. Another door opened on the other side of the room, and sitting on a cushion was a small, green being in a coarse-looking robe. _Master Yoda_.

"Come come," said the diminutive Jedi master, gesturing towards a chair, "Sit, you must. Very critical intelligence to discuss with you, we do."

"You're late!" a powerful voice snapped bluntly.

The admiral turned to her right side and gave the Korun Jedi seated there a light bow.

"My apologies, Master Windu. I was held up."

"Take a seat."

She calmly obliged. She noticed Knight Brent Astar was sitting in a chair next to her. The door in which she came in automatically slid shut.

"Now seated, we are. Begin the meeting, we can."

With a gentle motion of a tridactyl hand, Master Yoda produced a tiny ball from his robe and telekinetically placed it on a thin stand in the middle of the circle. Almost immediately, the lights in the room dimmed to almost complete darkness. A vast blue holographic map of the known planets in the galaxy filled the room. As Yoda spun the map towards the almost completely blank western region, Mace began to speak.

"Near the beginning of the war, we came across the remains of a transmitter tower on Muunilinst, during the closing stages of the invasion. It was torched by the retreating Separatists despite its strategic insignificance. What is even more intriguing about it is the hyper-encrypted messages being broadcast periodically to and from the tower that we picked up prior to the attack. Some were going to Kalee while others were being sent to Sernpidal and Dantooine. Our Jedi spies were then sent to each of these planets, and all found a transmitter tower of similar design and purpose on tower on Kalee was relaying encrypted signals between Muunilinst and the Unknown Regions. The other two were relaying to Serenno."

"Dooku's castle," blurted out Brent.

Windu nodded, "Indeed."

Admiral Lee was confused. _What did this have to do with us?_ "With all due respect, Master Jedi. This sounds like a job for Republic Intelligence."

"Resonated strongly with the Dark Side, the towers did," Yoda interjected, "Yet concealed from us, they were. Tools of the Sith, they may be."

"Did we get intel from the relays?" asked Brent excitedly.

The Korun shook his head. "Unfortunately no. The towers all collapsed on their own once they sensed the presence of Jedi. Considering how Jedi Shadows can mute their Force signature, that is quite an achievement. The only tower where the mainframe was breached successfully was on Kalee, but everything was encrypted an unknown number of times, so our Temple analysts are currently on it."

"What's their progress?" asked the admiral.

"So far, we managed to decrypt a Separatist datafile, one that GAR intelligence received from a classified source a day before our spy returned. It proved critical to us in routing the Separatist fleet in the Expansion Region."

Brent nodded in thought. "So either this is a sheer coincidence, or the Seps are purposefully feeding us intel to throw the fight. That doesn't sound very reasonable for them."

"To win a war, perhaps not," Yoda interjected again, "but to prolong one. Very likely, it is."

Admiral Lee shuddered at the thought of another long slog like the great Sith wars of the past. she leaned forward in her chair. "So what's our mission?"

Windu highlighted a position in the blank region on the holomap. "We tracked the broadcasts from the Kalee transmitter to this point in the Unknown Regions. Your battlegroup must investigate this location as part of your voyage. The _Pride's_ self-sustainability and firepower makes her the most qualified vessel to lead the mission."

"I wish to brief my executive officers on this development."

"Tell others, you may not. Know who is involved in this, we do not. If leaked, this operation is, in deep trouble, the Jedi Council will be, as would the fate of the Republic."

"I understand, Master Yoda."

"You too, Brent Astar. Not say a word to anyone, you will."

"Yes Master."

Yoda removed the holomap ball and tucked it into his robe.

Master Windu sat up from his chair. Everyone else followed suit.

"Dismissed."

As the four beings in the room left one after another, a dark cloud of uncertainty hovered ever ominously over them all.

* * *

 **A.N. : Next up, an unexpected order may derail the entire mission!**


End file.
